


Star Crossed

by Etsu_Nara



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-09-22 05:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9585014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etsu_Nara/pseuds/Etsu_Nara
Summary: Etsu, of the Nara clan, is Shikamaru's older sister. She's physically and mentally skilled, but the first mission she leads as a chuniin goes terribly wrong. She leaves Konoha for a few years to practice new skills and rediscover herself.*IMPORTANT UPDAYE* my computer is currently broken so I have no way to write anything, and will not be able to update until further notice. I'm deeply sorry.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this story follows Etsu Nara, an OC I made years ago. She is Shikamaru’s older sister. She actually makes a few brief appearances in my stories “Reunion” and “Friends Till the End” on fanfiction.net. Feel free to check those out (under essentially the same penname, etsunara rather than Etsu_Nara), the series starts with a story called “Welcome, Naruto!”, but I warn you, I started it in high school. My writing has since improved, but it starts out… bad, to say the least. Anyways, I figured it was time I finally wrote Etsu's story.
> 
> Also, fun fact, I’m studying abroad in Japan right now. I’m on my semester break (two whole months, woohoo!) which means I should have time to, you know, post stuff (though I’m in the process of putting together a book of poetry for a contest, so that will consume quite a bit of my time.
> 
> At any rate, enjoy what I do have!
> 
> Disclaimer: I only own Etsu and Rei, all other rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

# Prologue

Shikaku Nara stood next to the hospital bed where his wife, Yoshino Nara, lay, holding their newborn daughter.

“Shikara,” Shikaku said. “She needs a name starting with ‘shika’.”

“Why? Inoichi and Chouza won’t have any kids her age,” Yoshino replied. “She won’t be able to be part of an ‘Ino-Shika-Cho’ trio, so she doesn’t need to follow clan traditions.” 

“Well…I suppose you have a point. But our next child will have a ‘shika’ name.”

“It’s a deal,” Yoshino said. She smiled down at her daughter, who lay silently in her arms. “I want to name her Etsu.”

“Rejoice?” Shikaku asked. “It’s beautiful.”

“Welcome to the family, Etsu.”

***

Etsu was only a month old when the Fourth Hokage and his wife, Kushina, showed up at the Nara clan doorstep. The Fourth needed some medical supplies from Shikaku. Kushina came to see the baby. For a while now, all she had wanted was a baby, but of course, with her husband being Hokage, it was difficult to even find time to spend together, let alone consider raising a child.

Yoshino was finally able to put Etsu back in her crib after about thirty minutes of Kushina cooing over her.

“She’s just so darn cute!” Kushina cried after Yoshino returned. “Oh, Yoshino, you’re so lucky!”

“I don’t feel lucky,” Yoshino mumbled. “She wakes me up every hour, wailing her tiny little head off. And Shikaku is always so exhausted from his missions. Or at least that’s what he says.”

“Oh, but I’m sure you’ll come to cherish her. I mean, I know it must be hard now, but when she’s older, I’m sure she’ll live up to her name.”

“Oh, she better, or she’ll be a sorry little brat,” Yoshino replied.

“It’ll be nice for you to have a girl in the house, I think,” Kushina continued, pretending she hadn’t heard Yoshino call her daughter a brat. “Will you send her to the ninja academy?”

“Of course we will,” Shikaku replied.

At the same time, Yoshino said, “Absolutely not.”

The two exchanged a look, and Kushina quickly said, “Well, either way, she’ll grow up to be a fine member of the Nara clan.”

“My husband and I can at least agree on that,” Yoshino said. “At any rate-” Just then, Etsu started crying. With a sigh, Yoshino said, “Excuse me.” She disappeared around the corner to check on her daughter.

“I should get those medicinal herbs for you, Lord Fourth,” Shikaku said. “Give me just a moment. Shikaku exited the kitchen, leaving the Hokage and his wife to their own business for a moment.

While both host and hostess were gone, Kushina turned to her husband. “When will we be able to have a child, Minato?”

“As soon as I can definitely make more time for a family life,” he replied.

“But the child will have me,” Kushina countered. “I’ll be able to tell them all about how great their dad is!”

“I don’t want our child to grow up with one parent, Kushina,” Minato said.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She sighed in dejection.

“Lord Fourth, here are they herbs you requested,” Shikaku said, re-entering the kitchen.

“Ah, thank you, Shikaku,” Minato said, grabbing the herbs that had been wrapped in paper for safe keeping. “Well, we should probably take our leave.”

“So soon?” Yoshino asked, re-entering the kitchen with baby Etsu wrapped in a bundle of blankets. Her eyes were closed peacefully as Yoshino slowly rocked her.

“Yes, I have a lot of work to finish,” Minato said. “Although Kushina is welcome to stay.”

Kushina had drifted over to Yoshino and was frozen mid-reach for the baby. “Oh, can I?” She asked, rather childishly. Then she sighed. “But I need to make dinner.”

“Come by any time, Kushina,” Yoshino said. “You’re welcome to babysit for me,” she added with a wink.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kushina said with a smile, waving as she and her husband left the Nara compound.

***

Yoshino finally relented and allowed Etsu to join the ninja academy at the young age of five. She was getting annoyed with Shikaku’s constant pleading, but she was also close to giving birth, and simply didn’t have time to take care of a five year old and a newborn. Especially with Shikaku constantly on missions.

Though Etsu was young, she was excited to learn about the shinobi life. Shikaku wanted her to wear her hair in a ponytail, like his. He said because she was learning to be a shinobi, she had represent their clan. 

As of now, she was named as the clan heir, which was another reason that she needed to wear a ponytail, Shikaku had explained to her the night before her first day at the academy.

“What about the baby mommy is carrying?” Etsu asked. “If it’s a boy, won’t he take my place as heir?”

“Well, technically, if the baby is a boy, he’ll be named clan heir,” Shikaku said. “But don’t give up. If it’s a girl, you’ll still be in the running. Actually, even if it’s a boy, you’ll still be in the running. I plan on naming the most worthy clan member as clan heir.”

“I’ll make you proud, daddy,” Etsu said, smiling up at her father.

“I know,” Shikaku said, returning the smile. “Goodnight, Etsu.” He kissed his daughter’s forehead and tucked her in.

“Goodnight, daddy,” Etsu said as he flicked the lights off.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to update weekly, but when I realized the prologue was so short, I figured I might as well post the first chapter. But the next update will still come on Sunday, that way I don't mess with my schedule too much.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own Etsu and Rei, as well as the plot to this story, all other characters and rights belong to Masashi Kishimot.

# Chapter One

Daddy held my hand all the way to my first day at the ninja academy, but only because I made him promise to let go before we got there. I didn’t want to be seen holding my daddy’s hand on my way to my first day of ninja school.

I had on an outfit mommy picked out for me. Simple black shorts, and a black t-shirt, with black ninja sandals. My hair was pulled up into a ponytail, just like Daddy’s and my backpack, with my lunch, three perfectly sharpened pencils in a plastic pencil case, and one notebook, bounced merrily against my back as I skipped along trying to keep up with daddy’s long strides.

“You seem excited, Etsu,” Daddy commented.

“Yeah, I get to be an awesome ninja, just like you!” I said, grinning from ear-to-ear.

“I bet you will be,” Daddy said. “Just don’t let your mother hear that, I don’t think she wants you to be a ninja.”

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s dangerous life,” he explained. “Not the line of duty a mother wants her child following.”

“What about you, Daddy?” I asked.

“Well, I am a shinobi. I understand the life better than she does. It doesn’t make it much easier, but I understand the… sacrifices.”

“You’re not making any sense, Daddy.”

“You’ll understand when you’re older.” He dropped my hand just then, and I looked up to see the towering building that I knew to be the Ninja Academy of Konohagakure.

I started to run ahead, then looked back at Daddy, who hadn’t moved an inch. “Go on, this is as far as I’ll go.”

I hesitated only a moment, before waving goodbye. Even though I was smiling, I was so nervous I was shaking inside.

I paused when I reached the door, my hand on the knob. I wasn’t sure why, but I couldn’t open the door.

I took a deep breath.

Okay, Etsu, I thought to myself, get a grip. Just open the door.

Just as I was about to push the door open, a hand appeared and did it for me. I looked up to see a dark-skinned woman, with mid-back length, neon green hair. Her bangs were parted to reveal her Konoha forehead protector, and on the left side of her bangs she had a short, thin ponytail that went to about her chin and was tied near the end. She had ice blue eyes, but she still smiled warmly down at me. She wore blue Capris, and black ninja sandals, and bandages covering the gap between her sandals and her pants. Her open Chunin vest revealed a tight, blue crop top, with sleeves stopping mid-bicep.

“You must be one of the new students. Welcome.” Her smile was inviting, and made me feel a lot more comfortable.

“My name is Etsu Nara!” I returned her smile.

“My name is Nonoko, I’ll be your teacher. Come, Etsu, I’ll show you the classroom.”

I followed Nonoko-sensei through the front door. The front room was large and square, and I could see a front desk right before the main hall.

“Morning, Nono-chan,” the man behind the desk said with a smile.

“Good morning,” she said with a smile.

“Welcome to the academy,” the man said, smiling down at me.

“Thank you.” I made sure to pause and bow, daddy said it was respectful to bow to your superiors.

Nonoko-sensei led me down the hallway, where there were doors lining the walls to the left and the right.

We took a left at the end of that hall, and then she said, “Here’s our classroom. The first door on the left down this hall.” She walked in, and I could see a half full classroom.

I walked in, suddenly feeling shy, and looked around. There was a chalkboard and podium at the front, and too many tables for me to count. Each table sat three students each. I found an empty table by the window, in the middle of the rows of desks. I sat down, and looked out the window. In the center of a large courtyard, there was a track, and within the circle of the track were wooden posts I guessed would be used for training eventually.

It wasn’t long until the class was filled up. I didn’t have time to see who was sitting next to me before Nonoko-sensei was introducing herself.

“Good morning everyone. My name is Nonoko, and I will be your teacher while you are here at the academy. Some of you will be here longer than others, which is completely natural. We don’t really have a set amount of years required before graduation. We do, however, require you to learn a certain amount before you graduate. Therefore, you cannot graduate until you pass the graduation exams. You need to know the history of the shinobi world, the geography of the land, basic math, strategy, the difference between ninjutsu and genjutsu, how to use basic ninjutsu and intermediate level taijutsu, how to use shuriken and kunai, and kunoichi are required to learn a separate set of skills, which will be explained later when you join your kunoichi class. I believe that covers everything, so, does anyone have any questions?” No one raised their hand, and after a minute, Nonoko-sensei continued. “Alright, it’s important to know your comrades. Once you all graduate, you will more than likely eventually end up working with each other. I’ll start. As I said, my name is Nonoko, and I will be your classroom teacher as well as you taijutsu teacher. I will remain your teacher while you are at the academy. I’m also a Chunin.”

She called on a boy sitting in the front, who said his name was Akira. He said he had no clan, but his father was a decent Chunin.

I didn’t pay much attention while everyone introduced themselves. I figured if I wanted to meet them, I could talk to them later.

My turn finally came. No one else stood up, so I didn’t. I just said, “My name is Etsu of the Nara clan.” I wasn’t sure if I needed to say anything else, so I stopped there, glancing up at the teacher, but she had moved onto the next girl.

“My name is Rei Kimimoto, I don’t have a clan, really, but I come from a family of priests and priestesses at a local temple. Not the Fire Temple, though. I was sent here to learn ninja skills, as is tradition in my family,” the girl next to me said. I glanced over at her. She was wearing red shorts and a white tank top. She had shoulder-length black hair, and rich, chocolate brown eyes that were staring right at me. No, not staring. Glaring.

I looked away quickly. Rei didn’t have a chance to say anything to me, though, because the next person was introducing herself.

“My name is Hana, of the Inuzuka clan, and these are my companions, the Three Haimaru Brothers.” I looked past the girl next to me, Rei, to see three puppies with grey fur and white bellies. How come I hadn’t noticed the puppies earlier?

The rest of the class introduced themselves, and Nonoko-sensei passed out a textbook.

“This is the only textbook you will need for right now. Of course, you’re welcome to look at other books and teach things to yourself, but this book was compiled to teach the history of the shinobi, the geography you need to know, and a good deal about strategy. All the math you learn is incorporated into your ninja training, so we only teach it to you in a way that’s useful for your studies. For example,” she said, returning to the front of the classroom and writing on the board as she spoke, “If you are standing here,” she marked a spot with an ‘x’, “and your opponent is here,” she marked another spot on the board with another ‘x’, “what is the strength you need to throw your shuriken in order for it to hit the opponent? Of course, most ninja don’t think about that, but we teach you this stuff now so it becomes more second natured during training. Basically, while you won’t be doing the actual math before you throw a shuriken, it’s important to understand how it works. Now, let’s start with a bit of history.”

The first half of the day wasn’t nearly as long as I wanted it to be. We mainly focused on the history of Konoha. How the Senju clan, led by Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, and the Uchiha clan, led by Madara Uchiha, founded Konoha.

I took notes on everything Nonoko-sensei said. I could feel Rei staring at me, but I tried to ignore it.

“Alright, that about sums up everything on the Second Hokage,” Nonoko-sensei said. “You have an hour long lunch break, so go outside, get to know your classmates, and all the other Academy students. You’ll be called in when lunch is over. Leave all your stuff, except your lunch, in the classroom, please! Dismissed!” We all bolted out the door as soon as she let us go.

I followed the wave of students heading out to the courtyard that was outside my window in the classroom. I watched as students gathered in groups, sitting under trees and against the wall of the Academy.

I paused, not sure where I should go, until I saw Hana Inuzuka and her three dogs sitting alone under a tree. I walked over.

“Hi! It’s Hana, right?” I asked with a smile.

She looked up. “Yeah. Etsu, right? You can join us, if you want.”

I sat down. “Your dogs, they’re the Three Haimaru Brother’s, right?” She nodded. “They’re so cute! You’re so lucky you get to work with dogs!” One of the puppies walked over and started sniffing me.

“They’ll be more than cute one day,” she said. “They’re ninja hounds, so they’ll be able to fight with me. Once we work on our teamwork and attack combos, that is. I’ll have to do a lot of extra training with my clan.”

“That’s so cool,” I said.

“I guess it is pretty neat,” Hana said. “I never really thought too much about it, though. The dogs have always been a part of my life. I got these three just a couple years ago when they were born, but they’ve never left my side and I’ve never left theirs.”

“It’s the perfect team.”

“Yeah, it is.”

We ate lunch in silence, and walked back to class together when our hour was up.

The rest of the day consisted of learning about the third hokage, and a little about the fourth.

“Okay, that’s it for today. I want you to read the section in chapter two about the fourth hokage. We’ll be spending all of our time before lunch tomorrow talking about him. Class dismissed. See you all tomorrow!”

I followed my classmates out of the building, and watched them all excitedly running towards their mother’s or father’s, breathlessly sharing their first day of school stories. Hana’s puppies excitedly ran to the dog accompanying her mother. I stood frozen at the door, unsure as to where my father was, if he was even coming. After a moment, I saw him standing behind the group of parents getting their students. He was leaning against the wall, hands crossed and eyes closed, but I knew he wasn’t sleeping. I was also pretty sure I knew I was staring at him, so I hurried to his side.

“How was school, Etsu?” He asked, as he led us away from the building.

I took a deep breath, and said as much as I could in that breath. “It was amazing I learned so much about the founding of the village and the first second and third hokage I didn’t know there was so much to know about our village history I feel like my head is about to burst and I can’t imagine learning even more tomorrow not to mention all the jutsu we’re supposed to learn.” I had to pause to breath then, quickly taking in and letting out air.

Daddy laughed, and said, “Take it easy there, kiddo. Sounds like you enjoyed it.”

I spent the rest of the walk home talking about my teacher and my classmates.

Of course, daddy noticed my pause when I got to the girl sitting next to me. I tried to skip over her but he stopped me.

“What are you hiding?”

“Not hiding, I just don’t wanna talk about her,” I said.

“Who?”

I sighed. “Her name is Rei. I don’t know why, but she doesn’t like me.”

“Don’t let her get to you, just focus on your studies,” daddy said, ruffling my ponytail.

“I’ll try,” I muttered. Something told me she would be difficult to ignore. I also couldn’t help the pull of curiosity towards her; what made her hate me so much when she didn’t even know me?

Mom made my favorite that night, yakiudon and takoyaki. We laughed and I retold the story of my first day to her, leaving out the part about Rei.

That night, instead of sleeping, I lay in bed reading my entire textbook. I was a quick reader, but I was still up way past my bedtime.  



	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, only my OC’s.

# Chapter Two

Hana and I sat under a tree eating our lunch. We were halfway through our second week at the academy.

“Hey, who’s that?” I asked, pointing to a boy with long black hair, wearing a black shirt and shorts. He sat alone, working on homework, I assumed. I also noticed he didn’t have a lunch.

“That’s Itachi. Itachi Uchiha. He’s a year above us,” Hana said.

“Why is he all alone?”

She shrugged. “He’s always alone.”

“I’m gonna go talk to him.” I stood abruptly.

“Wait, what? No one ever talks to him!”

“Why?” I asked, pausing a few steps away, and giving her a curious look.

“I don’t know. He’s just… always alone, and always brooding,” Hana said. “It’s kinda weird.”

“That doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to not talk to him,” I said, and turned away from my friend and made my way over to Itachi.

“Hi,” I said, standing above him. He glanced up for a moment, then looked back down at the worksheet he was working on. “Can I sit with you?”

“No.” He didn’t look up this time.

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because why?” I persisted.

He sighed. “Did you want something?” He looked up at me, dark eyes empty.

I took a step back, surprised by the emptiness. “Um, I just noticed you were all alone, and you didn’t have a lunch, so I was wondering if you wanted to join me and Hana. I can share my lunch with you.”

He was silent. Normally, in situations like this, I would guess he was surprised, but Itachi just seemed so hard to read. “I’m not hungry.” He looked back down at his worksheet.

“Oh. Okay. Um, you should take out the two ninja on the side first,” I said, point at the worksheet, unable to stop myself for sharing my thoughts on the assignment. I scanned the sheet for directions, but saw none. “Unless you have backup. Then go for the middle guy, and let your back up take out the side guys.”

“And how do you propose to take out two guys at once?” Itachi asked.

“Um, well…” I paused. We actually hadn’t gone over battle strategy yet in class, but I had read ahead. I thought back to what I read, forehead scrunching in concentration. “Well, if you’re quick enough wit shuriken, that would work, or… oh! A clone technique would work too!”

“If you use a clone technique, why not just take them all out at once?” 

“Oh, yeah, I guess that’s right,” I said, thinking. “But it’s best to go for the two on the outside first, so there’s no one behind you. Right?”

Itachi paused. Then, eyes still focused on the paper in front of him, said, “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. This is your first year at the Academy, right?”

“Yeah, I just started a week and a half ago,” I said.

“You seem to know a lot about things you haven’t learned in class.” He looked up. “What’s your name?”

“Etsu, of the Nara clan,” I said, slightly proud.

“That explains it,” he said. “Your father is pretty smart, too, as I understand.”

“‘We’re only as smart as the work we put into learning’,” I said. “My father said that. I read ahead, that’s the only reason I know what to do.”

The smallest smile appeared on Itachi’s mouth. “My name is Itachi Uchiha. It’s nice to meet you, Etsu.” He stood up, worksheet in hand. “The goal of the exercise is to know which technique is best used to take out all three at once. Which would be the clone jutsu,” he added, and then started walking away.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“The bell will ring in ten seconds,” he said.

“What?” But he was already out of earshot.

Sure enough, ten seconds later the bell rang. Just as he said it would.

I hurried back to where Hana was sitting and packed up my lunch.

“What did he say?” She asked. “He seemed to have talked a lot with you!”

“He really didn’t say that much,” I said with a shrug. “I did most of the talking.”

“Well, he certainly seemed to talk a lot more than he usually does.”

“That’s for sure.” I turned at the snide comment, seeing Rei Kimimoto standing there. “What makes you so special?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Every time I try to talk to him, he just ignores me! What makes you so special?” Her tone was harsh, and I still hadn’t figured out the hostility she held towards me.

“I don’t know. Have you tried being nice?” I asked before I could stop myself. 

“Whatever,” she grumbled, storming off.

“What’s her problem?” I asked Hana after she was out of earshot.

“I don’t know, but let’s hurry inside before we get yelled at,” Hana said, pushing me towards the building, her three puppies close behind us.

“How do you know so much about Itachi?” I asked.

“I know as much as everyone else,” she said with a shrug. “How have you only just noticed him?”

“I guess I’m not that observant,” I replied. “But that is the first time I’ve seen him out here.”

“Well, I guess he usually isn’t outside for lunch,” Hana mused as we took our seats, Rei sitting in between us as usual, eyes trained on the board ahead.

“Alright,” Nonoko said, once everyone was seated. “I’ve given you two and a half weeks of sparring techniques, and you’ve had your gym classes. It’s time to start putting that into practice. We’ll be joining a higher level class so you can watch them spar, and then you’ll be able to practice with each other. Everyone, follow me.”

My earlier confusion and annoyance at Rei was quickly replaced with excitement for our first real day of sparring.

The class followed Nonoko-sensei out the courtyard, where the higher level class was waiting.

“Alright, everyone, this Tachi-sensei,” Nonoko-sensei said, introducing the other teacher. He was tall, with long, blond hair, tied back at the nape of his neck, had fair skin, and blues eyes. He wore plain black pants, black ninja sandals, had his Chunin vest zipped up over a long sleeved black shirt, and his Leaf headband was secured on his forehead.

“Welcome everyone,” he said, stepping forward. “And thank you for joining our class today.” I noticed Itachi was in this class. “No, none of you will be sparring against anyone in my class, don’t worry. We’re just here to demonstrate how sparring works, and what it looks like between friends in a safe environment. So, everyone, take a seat on the side of the sparring ring. Itachi and Hiroki are the most skilled taijutsu fighters in this class, they will demonstrate proper form and etiquette. Of course, when fighting actual opponents, etiquette is rarely found, but it’s important to respect a friendly sparring partner. Begin when ready, you two.”

Less than a second after Tachi-sensei had stopped speaking, Hiroki lunged towards Itachi. He was quick and precise, and I could barely follow his movements. I thought his fist would collide with Itachi’s face, but at the last second, Itachi side-stepped and sent a punch straight for Haruki’s stomach. Haruki side-stepped and sent a kick at Itachi. They followed a similar pattern of Haruki sending punches at Itachi, Itachi dodging and punching at Haruki, and Haruki dodging. Every so often, one of them would land a hit. It was a beautiful, yet deadly dance. Or, it would have been deadly, but I knew they were holding back for the sake of sparring.

“Alright, good!” Tachi-sensei called. Itachi and Haruki stopped, bowed to each other, and went to stand next to Tachi-sensei.

“Okay, everyone pair up. Tachi-sensei and I, as well as the older students will be watching to make sure your form is correct and you aren’t hurting each other. Hana, while I understand you will fight with your dogs in real battles, please refrain from using them today. That is sparring practice you have to do with your clan.”

I looked over at Hana. “Partners?”

“You bet!”

We faced each other, and I glanced around at the other groups. “So… do we just start… hitting each other?”

“I guess so,” she said, also glancing around. “Okay, well, take a fighting stance, I guess.”

I hadn’t actually sparred against anyone before, but I decided to treat it as if I were fighting a moving wooden post. I moved my right leg back, and held my hands up.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Hana was the first to kick. I saw it coming, but my arm wasn’t quick enough.

“Ow!”

“Sorry!”

“You need to move quicker,” a new voice said. I looked over to see Itachi standing there. “Focus on her eyes and her shoulders. They make a triangle. When she moves to kick, punch, dodge, whatever, that triangle will move. From there, use your peripheral to gauge what side the attack is coming from. Get read.” We took new fighting stances. “Go.”

Hana sent a kick at me again, but this time I was able to block just fine. My returning kick, however, was slow, and she jumped back out of the way.

“You’re jumping too far back,” Itachi said. “That puts you so far from your opponent that you can’t quickly counter-strike. They’ll see your moves coming a mile away and you lose whatever potential advantage dodging gave you. Again.”

We repeated the same pattern of one of us messing up, Itachi correcting us, and making us go again. He made us kick and punch harder each time.

“You can’t go easy on each other just because you’re friends. Neither of you will learn that way,” Itachi said. “Hit hard. Not too hard, but hard enough for it to hurt a little. Your parents might not like it, but if you’re not going home with bruises, you’re not learning anything.”

“That seems a little… harsh,” I muttered.

“That’s the ninja world,” Itachi replied. “Again.”

After maybe an hour, Nonoko-sensei called for our attention. “Okay, everyone, go take a ten minute break. You can go get water, sit and relax, whatever you want, just as long as you’re back in ten minutes!”

Hana and I hurried our slightly bruised selves into the building to get water, and hurried back outside.

Nonoko-sensei called us all to attention after ten minutes. “Alright, does anyone want to volunteer to demonstrate their skills? You’ll be paired with someone that wasn’t your partner to keep you on your toes.”

I shot my hand up, excited to try sparring against a new opponent.

“Alright, Etsu and Rei it is,” Nonoko-sensei said.

I froze, not realizing Rei was the other person to raise their hand. I looked over at her just as she shouldered past me.

“Well, go on,” Hana whispered pushing me forward.

I forced myself to step forward and face her.

“Alright, only rule is no headshots,” Nonoko-sensei said. “Begin when ready.”

I had barely made a fighting stance when Rei lunged at me. I managed to block her first punch, but her kick landed squarely on my side. I was quick jump back to dodge her next kick, and while she was still regaining her balance from overshooting her kick, I landed a kick on her side, knocking her down. She rolled, smoothly standing up. When I looked into her eyes, I saw a rage stronger than I had seen in her before. She let out a yell, and charged at me. I saw blue chakra around her upraised fist, and I froze. We hadn’t even begun to learn chakra control. How was she doing that?

“Rei, stop!” I heard Nonoko-sensei call.

Rei wasn’t listening. She sped up, fist connecting with my face lightning fast, yet it felt like an eternity before I hit the ground. I skidded, and I felt something warm trickling down from the corner of my mouth.

I saw Rei flying towards me, hair blowing behind her. Maybe it was my blurred vision, but she looked like some sort of goddess warrior. 

Instincts I didn’t know I had took over. I rolled to the side. Her fist hit the ground where I had been moments before, cracks spider webbing around her hand. In one smooth movement, I rolled to a stand and sent a kick at her side, knocking her down.

Instead of getting up, she knelt on the ground and started to draw a strange symbol.

That’s when Nonoko-sense stepped in. “Enough, Rei. I said no headshots. You can go home.”

“What?”

“Go home. We’ll see you tomorrow.” She watched Rei walk—well, storm, really—away from the training field, back into the school. Presumably to get her stuff and leave.

“Are you alright, Etsu?” She asked, by my side in an instant. “Sorry I didn’t intervene sooner. I wanted to see how you’d handle it. Just know, I wouldn’t have let anything bad happen to you. Here.” She wiped the corner of my mouth with a white handkerchief from her shuriken holster on her hip, and I realize the warmth I felt trickling from my mouth was blood. “You have some good reflexes. Did your father train you?”

I shook my head. “No. I just… moved, I guess” I said.

“They’re good instincts to have.”

“Nonoko-sensei, what was she doing before you stopped her?” I asked, walking over to where she had started drawing in the dirt. She had drawn a spiral, with its tail twisting down, and started to draw another spiral, going in the opposite direction, right next to it. It looked like the tail would drop down, crossing over the other tail.

“It’s a bloodline jutsu her family can use,” Nonoko-sensei said, using her foot to wipe away the drawing. “Not something you would use in a friendly sparring match.”

“What does it do?” I asked.

“Nothing good,” Nonoko-sensei said. The worried look on her face as she stared down at where the drawing had been caused a pit in my stomach. But as soon as the look was there, it was gone. She looked up at me and gave me a smile. “Don’t worry about it. You should go to the nurse’s office to get your face looked at. As impressive as it is that someone as young as Rei can get visible chakra to form around her fist, it was a very small amount, and not very dangerous, so I don’t think it caused you any real damage, but it’s better to get it looked at now.”

“Itachi, show her the way,” Tachi-sensei added.

Itachi nodded him, and I followed him back into the school.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“I think so. My mouth hurts, though,” I muttered. “And so does my head.” I paused in front of a window to look at my reflection. The right corner of my mouth where Rei’s fist had hit me looked red and raw. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it looked like her chakra had peeled away a few layers of skin. I touched it lightly, quickly pulling my hand away at the sting.

“Best not to touch it,” Itachi said. “Let’s get you to the nurse’s office.”

“I don’t get what her problem is!” I grumbled angrily, walking next to Itachi.

“Perhaps you should ask your father what he knows about her and her family,” Itachi suggested.

“What would my dad know?” I asked.

“He’s a jonin and a Nara, he knows more than he lets on, I’m sure,” Itachi replied vaguely. “Here we are.”

“Itachi, what a surprise to see you here,” the receptionist said.

“Just escorting a classmate,” he replied.

“Who—oh my!” The receptionist exclaimed when she saw me. “Come on back, dear, we’ll get you patched up. Thank you, Itachi. You can go back to class.”

He didn’t say anything, and I was ushered into the back so quickly I didn’t have time to ask if he could stay, since I didn’t know the school very well, and I didn’t see if he left or not.

“What’s your name, dear?” The receptionist, who also appeared to be a nurse, asked.

“Etsu Nara,” I said.

“My name is Kaiya. Now, let’s get you cleaned up.” Along with cleaning up and bandaging up where Rei had torn away my skin by my mouth (which stung worse than when I got salt on a paper cut helping mommy cook once), she cleaned up the small scrapes on my arm, placing Band-Aids on those as well. “There, good as new. You’re free to go.”

I thanked her, and, not having the courage to admit I didn’t know how to get back to my classroom, went on my way.

“All done?” I had been looking down at the ground, so I jumped at the sound of Itachi’s voice.

“You’re still here?” I asked.

“I figured you didn’t know the way back to class,” he said. 

“Thank you.”

He gave me a small smile. I followed him in silence back to my classroom.

“Ah, thank you, Itachi,” Nonoko-sensei. Itachi nodded and took his leave. “Don’t worry, Etsu, you didn’t miss much. We finished up chapter five. Make sure you read it for homework, and if you have any questions, let me know tomorrow.” I took my seat, thankful for Rei’s empty chair. “Now, close your books. We’re going to start learning some very basic ninjutsu. But in order to do that, what do we need?”

“Chakra?” One boy asked timidly.

“Exactly. Who can tell me what chakra is?”

It was silent. I was sure people knew, but no one was speaking up. “The combination of mental and physical energy,” I said.

“Exactly. Physical energy comes from training your body. Things such as running, punching, any sort of physical exercise. That’s why we train so hard every day. But being a ninja isn’t just about being physically fit,” Nonoko-sensei said, then tapped her head right above her forehead protector. “You need a strong mind, too.”

“How do you do that?” A boy at the front asked.

“Through study and meditation,” Nonoko-sensei said. “But not just any kind of studying. You need to study with purpose.

“That means that your studying needs to be dedicated to improving your mind,” Nonoko-sensei explained. “It’s probably a little difficult for you to understand now, but it’s something you’ll figure out as you learn more. It’s all about expanding your knowledge about jutsu, chakra, and other such things.

“Now, once you’ve improved your mental and physical energies you need to learn to combine them. That is when chakra is created. We used different hand seals to help focus out energy and create jutsu. Sometimes, though it’s rare, chakra can manifest itself around a person. This is really only seen with medical ninja, when they perform medical ninjutsu. It can also be seen if an individual has a large amount of chakra within them. While an individual’s chakra limit can be increased through rigorous training, visible chakra typically only happens with those born with a naturally high chakra limit.”

“Is that why we saw Rei’s chakra?” One girl asked.

“Essentially, yes,” Nonoko-sense said. “Rei comes from a family of priests and priestesses. They’ve always been very close to the spiritual world, which gives them an immense amount of chakra. Well, it gives them the potential for a vast amount of chakra. How hard they physically train will determine their actual limit. When controlled properly, visible chakra can cause an incredible amount of damage. Rei is young, which is why she wasn’t able to cause that much damage, but with the proper training, she’ll be able to master quite a wide variety of techniques.”

We spent the rest of the day practicing the clone jutsu and the transformation jutsu, both of which I grasped pretty quickly. I couldn’t go beyond making one clone, though.

Nonoko-sensei checked to make sure I was okay once more at the end of the day. I promised her I was, and hurried outside. Daddy was waiting for me, like usual. I was ready to ask him about Rei Kimimoto and her family, but my questions were quickly forgotten by the grin spread across his face.

“What is it, daddy?” I asked.

“Come on, you’ll see,” he said. I followed him through the village, going the opposite direction of our clan’s compound.

“Where are we going?” I asked, even though I knew he wouldn’t answer me.

“You’ll see,” he said, giving me a grin.

We were twisting through the village, which was when I realized how big it actually was. I had never been anywhere except the Nara compound and the Academy, staying on the same path going to and from. For the average five year old, that was pretty normal, but I was training to be a ninja. I should know how to get around my own village.

We turned a corner, and I saw the hospital looming over us.

“Mommy had the baby!” I exclaimed.

Daddy grinned down at me. “Come on, let’s introduce you to your little brother.”

It took longer than I wanted to get to the hospital, and walk down the long halls to the room mommy was in.

“Etsu, I want you to meet Shikamaru,” daddy said when we entered the room. I hurried to mommy’s bedside. In her arms was a small, pink baby, fast asleep.

“Can I hold him?” I asked eagerly.

“When we take him home and when he’s not sleeping,” mommy said.

“But—”

“If he’s anything like you, he’ll be awake plenty,” mommy said. “You’ll get to hold him, just later, okay?”

“Fine,” I said.

She looked over at me, smiling. That smile instantly fell when she saw my face. “What happened to you?” She was whispering because of the sleeping Shikamaru in arms, but I could tell she wanted to yell, her voice a mix of anger and yelling.

“We started sparring today,” I said. “It’s nothing, really.”

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Daddy quickly came to my rescue, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“Okay!” I said, quickly, grabbing his hand and pulling him from the room.

“Daddy. Remember that girl I told you about? Rei?” I asked once outside of the hospital.

“What about her?”

“Her family name is Kimimoto. Do you know anything about them?” I asked.

He looked down at me with a frown, then looked forward again. “So that’s what happened to your face.”

“Yeah, she punched me during sparring,” I said, recounting the fight to him. “You know her.”

“I know her family. A long time ago, I was on a mission with a ninja who would have been her uncle,” daddy explained.

“Would have been?”

“I was in charge of the mission. It’s a long story, but we were in a tight situation, I had limited information, and I made a call that I felt was best for the sake of the mission. It was the wrong call, her uncle didn’t make it.”

“Oh. I guess that’s why she doesn’t like me that much,” I said.

“It’s not you she doesn’t like, I wouldn’t think,” daddy said, patting my head. “She’s taking her father’s frustration for me out on you.”

“That seems a little backwards,” I said..

“Maybe, but I imagine she grew up with stories of how I essentially killed her uncle. Her father never did forgive me, and I don’t blame him.”

“But it’s not really your fault,” I said, thinking about what he had told me. “Is it? I mean, you gave the order, but you were only doing what you thought was right.”

“It’s never that simple, Etsu,” daddy said. We had reached the compound and were standing on our front porch. He knelt down in front of me, and put a hand on my shoulder. “I can’t blame her father for how he feels, I blame myself, too. As ninja, we need to take responsibility for our actions. These are lessons you won’t learn in the Academy. Hopefully, you won’t learn them for quite some time. That being said, Rei shouldn’t be taking her father’s anger out on you.”

“What should I do, then?” I asked.

“That’s up to you,” daddy said. “You could confront her about it, or you could just go about your business.”

“But what’s the best thing to do?”

“I can’t tell you that, Etsu. You need to figure out the best course of action yourself,” daddy said. “Now, come inside, I want to look at your mouth.”

I followed daddy inside and let him clean and re-bandage the cuts on my mouth and arms. It stung, but I barely noticed. I was too busy thinking about what daddy had told me.


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late! I meant to update on Sunday, but things got a little crazy. My parents are visiting me here in Japan for about a week and a half, and they came on Sunday. I actually meant to update on Saturday, but that didn't happen. If I can, I will update on Sunday, but we've been so busy traveling and sightseeing (it's really strange to go sightseeing in a place you live) that I haven't had time to write, so I cant' make any promises. I don't know if I should apologize for this being on the long side, or say this is to make up for posting late and probably not posting this week. I guess you can take your pick. Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own Etsu and Rei, and all other OC's that appear. I do not own Naruto.

# Chapter Three

I told Hana what daddy told me the next day before class started. After what happened yesterday, Hana decided she would sit next to me. Not that it mattered, Rei wasn’t here 

“What are you going to do?” She asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I guess ignore it unless it gets really bad.”

“Hasn’t it already gotten really bad?” Hana asked.

“I guess,” I shrugged. “But I’m not hurt that badly.”

“Whatever you say,” Hana whispered as Nonoko-sensei started class.

We spent the first half of the day learning about ninjutsu and genjutsu and their different levels.

“Alright, that brings the first half the day to an end,” Nonoko-sensei said, glancing at the clock. “Girls, today starts your first day of kunoichi lessons. Your teacher will come get you from the classroom after lunch. Dismissed!”

Hana and I sat in our usual spot for lunch and began eating when a shadow stood over us. My head snapped up, eyes wide, and got ready to stand, thinking it was Rei, only to see Itachi standing there.

“Itachi?”

“I just wanted to check to see how you’re doing.”

“Oh. I’m fine, thanks,” I said.

“That’s good. I don’t see Rei here.” He glanced around, as if to double check.

“She wasn’t in class this morning, I’m not sure why,” I said.

“Perhaps that’s for the best.” He turned, and started to leave.

“W-wait! Did you wanna join us?” I asked.

He paused, and glanced back every so slight, and gave the smallest of smiles. “Thank you for the offer, but I have work to do.”

I frowned as he walked away. “I can’t figure him out. All I can say is that I want to be his friend.”

“Why? He’s such a loner,” Hana said, munching on her lunch.

“He… intrigues me,” I said. I held one of the onigiri mommy had made me in my hand, but it was ignored as I stared after Itachi.

After lunch, a new teacher came to take all the girls outside. We followed her off school grounds and into a meadow not far from the Academy.

“Good afternoon, my young kunoichis-in-training! My name is Chiki, I will be your kunoichi teacher.” She was taller than Nonoko-sensei, had forest green eyes, blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back, even in its high ponytail. She had bangs cut straight across her forehead, and her headband was tied around her neck. She wore a green kimono dress, the neck falling on the curve of each shoulder, and the bottom cut at an angle. She wore fishnet leggings underneath, and knee-high, open-toed, teal ninja boots. Her finger and toenails were painted a dark blue, a stark contrast against her surprisingly pale skin. “As kunoichi, we need to learn a special set of skills for one simple reason: women of different cultures have different rolls. Some missions will require us to blend into our surroundings. While it is typically normal to see men walking around with weapons, it is not always normal to see a woman walking around like that. We need to learn to adapt to our surroundings.

“I brought you to this clearing for two reasons. One, I wanted to give all you girls a bit of a change in scenery. Two, we will be spending quite a bit of time in this area, so I wanted you to start to become familiar with it, and part of your assignment today is to simply adapt.”

We spent a lot of time just sitting, listening to the sounds, smelling the air around us. When we finally returned to the school, Chiki-sensei led us to a different classroom than the one Nonoko-sensei taught us in.

“Now, who can tell me what the village looked like on the way back?”

Everyone was silent as they looked between each other.

Hesitantly, I raised my hand. “Well, we walked past a lot of tall walls, and even though a lot of people live in the village, I only saw… three on our way back. But there were four on the way there.”

“Very good,” Chiki-sensei said. “Do you remember what the people looked like?”

“Umm…” I thought back. “One was a woman. She had short… red hair? No, long red hair. She had a son and a daughter, possibly fraternal twins. The girl had short red hair, and boy had the same length blond hair.”

“Good, good,” Chiki-sensei said with a smile and a nod. “Part of being able to adapt is being observant of your surrounding area. If you don’t know how the women in the area act and dress, how will you be able to blend in?”

The rest of the day was spent listening to Chiki-sensei talk about adapting, and different skills we would need as kunoichi that male shinobi didn’t need.

When class was finally dismissed, I walked outside with Hana, chatting. We said goodbye at the door, and I paused after she left. Today was the first day daddy wouldn’t be walking me home. He had a mission, and mommy couldn’t come because she had baby Shikamaru to take care of.

“Your dad isn’t here.”

I looked over to see Itachi standing behind me. “No, he has a mission. Your dad isn’t here either?”

“No, he never came to pick me up,” he replied.

“Oh, not even once? Why?” I asked.

“He never saw a need to, I guess.” Itachi shrugged. He started walking towards the exit, and, making a spur of the moment decision, I hurried to keep up with him.

“Itachi!” I called out, a little more excited than I intended. He glanced over his shoulder as we approached the exit. “Um, did you want to train together?”

“Right now?” I nodded. He gave me a look I didn’t know how to describe. Curious, maybe? He shrugged. “Sure, I know a place, follow me.”

I followed him through the village – careful to pay attention to everything around me – until we reached the gates to the village.

“Wait, we’re leaving the village?” I asked, hesitating at the threshold.

“We’re not going far,” Itachi said. He pointed to a path leading to the left, then proceeded to walk down it. “This path leads to the training fields. But we’re going this way.” Not too long after walking down the path, he took a left, cutting between trees, and leading the way into a clearing. “It’s out of the way, so we won’t be bothered. Was there anything specific you wanted to work on?”

I shook my head. “Just sparring. I was really slow the other day against Rei… I need to get better if I want to be any good.”

Itachi nodded. “Alright, then let’s fight.”

I slid my back foot into a fighting stance and raised my fists.

“No, not like that,” he said, coming to stand in front of me. With his leg, he pushed my back leg back farther and turned my foot to a forty-five degree angle. “This will give you better balance and support. Shift most of your weight to your back foot. Yeah, like that. Raise your fists, you want them in front of your face so your enemy won’t hit it.” He stepped back and took a fighting stance of his own.

We spent a good two hours sparring before he called it a day.

“What’s your family like?” I asked as we walked back to the village.

“My family? Hmm… hardworking, diligent, distant, on occasion,” Itachi replied.

“I guess that explains it,” I mumbled to the ground.

“Explains what?”

“The way you act at school, why you don’t hang out with anyone, it makes sense,” I explained, looking up at him to gauge his reaction.

“Hn.”

“Why are you so distant?” I asked. “Besides your family, I mean.”

“Why are you so curious?”

“Because I’m curious about you,” I said. “No one knows much about you, and I want to know.”

“That is just like someone from the Nara clan,” Itachi muttered. “You have a bright future ahead of you, I think.”

“You’re avoiding my question.”

“That I am,” he said with a small smile as we approached the village entrance. “And I shall continue. Until next time, Etsu.”

Before I could get another word in, he turned and left. Heading home, I assumed. I sighed, and made my way home. Where I found a very angry, very worried mother.

“Where on earth have been?” Mommy’s voice was a strained whisper. This wouldn’t have been the first time, or the last time, she yelled at me, but lucky for me, Shikamaru was asleep and she didn’t want to wake him up.

“I went to train with a classmate after school,” I said.

“I wish you would tell me these things before you go to school. I was worried sick!”

“Well, I didn’t decide until after school ended. Sorry,” I mumbled towards the ground.

“Just tell me these things in the future, then,” she said. “Now, help me get dinner ready.”

“Will daddy be home for dinner?” I asked.

“I don’t think so, dear,” mommy said. “I think he’ll be on his mission for a while.”

“Oh.” I chopped vegetables in silence as mommy prepared the rest of the meal.

***

Itachi and I made a habit of training together every day after school, and Rei was definitely took notice. She seemed to ignore me for the most part, besides glaring at me during class. It wasn’t until nearly a month after our first sparring incident that she actually confronted me.

Nonoko-sensei had just told us to pick partners for sparring today. Hana was inconveniently absent, and before I could even begin to look around for a partner, Rei swooped in, blocking my view of the rest of the class.

“We’re partners. I want a rematch,” she said.

“I think you pretty much won last time,” I said, feeling uneasy.

“I guess you’re right.” She gave me a frown. “But we’re still partners.”

“I think it’s best if you find a different partner, Rei.” I looked up to see Nonoko-sensei standing behind her.

“But—”

“After the way you behaved last time, you’re lucky to even be joining our sparring classes. Besides, Etsu has been progressing quite quickly. We’re pairing her with Hiroki.”

Like usual, we were outside with Itachi’s class, and, like usual, we weren’t being paired with them. Or so I thought.

As if on cue, Hiroki appeared next to Nonoko-sensei.

Rei looked between Nonoko-sensei and Hiroki, then glared at me. “Fine, whatever.” She stormed off to find another partner.

“Are you really pairing me with one of the older students?” I asked.

Nonoko-sensei nodded. “Itachi mentioned that you had been training with him, and we’ve noticed a drastic improvement in your skills. You’ll get more out of sparring with him.”

Hiroki smiled at me as Nonoko-sensei left. “It’s nice to meet you, Etsu. I’ve been watching you, so I know you’re good. I won’t go easy on you.” He easily slid into a fighting stance. I swallowed and followed suit.

Quick as a snake, Hiroki lunged at me. But I was ready. I had only been training with Itachi for a few weeks, but my eyes had already begun to get used to an opponent’s quick movements. I saw the triangle his head and shoulders made move a millisecond before his foot followed. I stepped back, evading the attack, and sending a kick towards him. I knew he would dodge, and the second my foot landed, and skipped forward and sent a kick right into his stomach. He was knocked off balance, but only for a moment. He gracefully spun around, regaining his balance and coming at me, all in the blink of an eye.

Our sparring match followed a similar pattern of the other dodging the other’s attacks, occasionally getting hit. But neither of us were down for long after a blow.

I had worked up a good sweat during practice, and I couldn’t decide who was better between Itachi and Hiroki, but they both seemed pretty evenly matched, though their fighting methods were drastically different.

After classes ended for the day, I met Itachi outside and we made our way to our usual training spot.

We were almost to the gate when I had the distinct feeling someone was following us. I scrunched my forehead in confusing, glancing over at Itachi, who seemed oblivious. Until he said, “You just noticed it? She’s been following us since we left the academy. Don’t look,” he said as I turned my head.

“I just want to know what she wants.”

“You’ll find out,” Itachi replied. “Though I suspect you already know.”

Which was true. She didn’t get to fight me in class today, so she probably just wanted to fight. I didn’t, though. I wanted to be as far from her as possible.

We reached the clearing, and she followed us right into it. I turned to face her, but didn’t say anything.

“So this is how you’ve supposedly gotten so good?” She asked, hand on her hip and knee cocked.

“What do you want?”

“I want to fight. This time, no one’s going to get in the way.”

“Well, I don’t want to.” I crossed my arms.

“Afraid to lose without our teacher to protect you?” Her attempt at goading me made me roll my eyes.

“No, I’m just not interested in this stupid feud you have with me. I didn’t do anything. What’s your problem?” Of course, I knew the answer, but I wanted her to say it.

“My problem is your dad. Your whole family! You think you’re so much better because you’re part of a big clan? You think you can get away with murder because of that?”

“Murder? No one in my family is a murderer!”

“They might as well be! My uncle is dead because of your dad!”

“He made a mistake. It happens.”

“It’s not okay when it’s at the expense of someone’s life!”

I paused. I knew I had to say the right thing if I wanted her to leave me alone, and part of me knew she was right. It wasn’t okay, but nothing could change what had happened. I looked at the ground, then back up at her. “You’re right, it’s not okay, but it’s still part of a shinobi’s life. We can’t change that. I’m sorry your uncle… was killed… I’m sorry you grew up not knowing him, but he knew the risks. My father made a mistake, and the price was high, but your uncle knew what could happen, and—”

“No! You don’t get to try to comfort me, or make this logical! I didn’t come her for your sympathy! I came to fight you!”

“What do you plan to accomplish by this?”

“To prove that you’re not any better because you’re in a clan! To prove that I’m better!”

“She won’t leave until you fight,” Itachi whispered to me. “Might as well get it over with.”

“Fine, whatever,” I said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I hadn’t even started making a fighting stance when she charged me.

I barely dodged her barrage of punches, and finally was hit by a kick. I stumbled back, quickly regaining my balance.

She was quicker and stronger, but something was off. There was something wild, almost animal-like, about her.

I jumped back from her next quick, quickly making a fighting stance.

Most of the fight was her wildly throwing punches and kicks, and me dodging. Partially because I was watching her moves, learning the pattern, and partially because I found there wasn’t a pattern. I didn’t know how to fight someone so… crazy.

After a couple of minutes, both of us were breathing heavy, and we hadn’t made much progress. That’s when everything happened faster than I could follow.

From out of nowhere, she pulled a paper bomb. I jumped back just as she threw it down. The explosion missed me, but caused a cloud of dust to fly up. I covered my eyes instinctively, trying to keep dirt out of them, which is why I didn’t see Rei flying at me until it was too late.

She had a strange staff in her hands that she hadn’t had before. It was gold, with a circle at the top, and a silver crescent moon in the center. There was a bronze metal bar through the moon sticking out of both sides of the circle, silver bells hanging from the ends, jingling as she flew towards me.

She landed in front of me, slamming the staff into the ground. “Secret Art: Soul Crusher!”

The second she finished saying that – no, she hadn’t even finished – Itachi was in front of me, knocking the staff back, but not before an unseen force knocked me backwards. Itachi seemed unharmed, but I couldn’t be sure. The force of the blast knocked me into a tree, and I lost consciousness – or maybe it was the blast itself.  



	5. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own Etsu Nara and Rei Kimimoto (and any other OC that appears unless otherwise stated). All other rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

# Chapter Four

I had no idea where I was when I woke up. I thought I was in my room, at first, but when I opened my eyes I was surrounded by white walls, and was in a strange bed.

“Etsu. You’re finally awake.”

I looked over at the sound of a familiar, yet very tired, voice.

“Daddy?”

“How do you feel?”

“Feel? What do you mean? I’m fine,” I said, glancing around the room again. Maybe there was a clue as to why he seemed so worried.

“Etsu, you’ve been unconscious for almost a week.” Daddy frowned at me. “Do you really feel fine?”

“Maybe a little tired,” I said, thinking about how I felt. “But I’m fine… what do you mean I’ve been unconscious for nearly a week?”

“You don’t remember?” I shook my head. “You were fighting Rei Kimimoto. She used one of her kekkei genkai on you. Itachi tried to stop it, but you both ended up here in the hospital.”

My memories flooded back then, and I remembered what happened after I blacked out. I remembered standing in what seemed to be a black room, and though I wasn’t able to see anyone, I felt like I was surrounded; trapped.

I gripped my head, suddenly having a throbbing headache, and I couldn’t help the whimper that slipped out.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here.” I felt daddy’s hand on my shoulder, and turned into his body, trying to will the headache away.

After a moment, it died down a little, and I was able to think better.

“I’m sorry if I made you and mommy worry,” I mumbled.

“Don’t be sorry,” daddy said. “Well, not to me, anyways. Your mother is a different story… just try to stay out of fights with that girl.”

I nodded. I asked if I could see Itachi, but daddy said he was discharged a few days ago.

He kissed my forehead then, saying he needed to go home, but he was glad I was okay.

“When can I leave?” I asked as he left.

“I’ll ask on my way out. Soon, though, now that you’re awake.”

I laid back down in bed, not really sure how I should be feeling. All I knew was that I was really tired. Just as I closed my eyes, I heard my door quietly slide open. I looked over, expecting to see daddy, but was surprised to see Itachi walking through the door.

“How are you?”

“Okay, I guess,” I said with a shrug. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

“What… what did she do to me? To us?”

“I’m not that familiar with the jutsu itself, but I do know what she did wasn’t what it was supposed to be,” Itachi said, sitting down next to my bed. I must have looked confused, because he added, “What I mean is, the jutsu she used ended up being no more than a genjutsu. I think it’s supposed to transfer the subject of the jutsu – in this case, you and me – to the spirit realm. Which is slightly more permanent than a genjutsu.”

“What… happened exactly?”

“I tried to stop the jutsu. Genjutsu is something my family is very familiar with, but I wasn’t prepared for the caliber of her attack, so it ended up hitting both of us. I managed to break away from the genjutsu and get us away, but I passed out near the village entrance. I’m glad you’re okay.” He gave one of his small smiles and I grinned back at him.

“Didn’t think you were the type to worry.”

“I worry if the person has earned being worried about.” He stood then, turning toward the door. “At any rate, I should return home. My mother still wants me on bed rest.”

With that said, Itachi left.

I ended up being released from the hospital later that day, and despite my mother’s protests, I decided I wanted to return to school the next day.

However, when I walked to my usual classroom, I was stopped at the door by Nonoko-sensei.

“How are you, Etsu?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“That’s good to hear, I’m glad to see you’re back.” She gave me her usual warm smile, which quickly fell away. “This is a little difficult to say, but we’ve decided to change your class. We think it’s best if you’re away from Rei, and as you’ve progressed quicker than her, and are also the victim, it only makes sense to move you up and keep her where she is. Ah, Tachi-sensei, you’re here!”

I looked back to see Itachi’s teacher approaching.

“It’s good to see you again, Etsu,” he said with a smile. It was nice, but nowhere near as warm as Nonoko-sensei’s.

“Nonoko-sensei, I—is it really best? Moving me? Won’t Rei just think I’m getting special treatment? I don’t want her to hate me more than she already does.”

“I understand this, Etsu, but right now, you need to focus on your studies, and you can’t really do that if you’re being put in the hospital,” Nonoko-sensei said. “Tachi-sensei will be your new teacher. You’ll have to stay after class for a bit to catch up on what you missed, and to catch up to the where his class is, but I know that won’t be a problem for you.”

“But—” I started, then stopped, looking between the two teachers and realized I didn’t have much of a choice. “Okay.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

But I don’t understand, I thought to myself as I said goodbye and followed Tachi-sensei to his classroom.

“Sorry I’m late, everyone,” Tachi-sensei said as we entered the classroom. “I’m sure you remember Etsu. She’ll be joining our class from now on. Go ahead and take a seat wherever you want.”

I saw an empty seat in the front between a girl and boy I didn’t know, and then a seat in the back at the table where Itachi sat alone. I made my way to the back, and set my backpack down, sitting at the same table as him, but leaving the middle seat empty. If I had to be here, I’d rather be here with someone I knew.

I was slightly surprised to find that I knew most of what we went over before lunch. Of course, it was just history, and I had read ahead a lot.

Tachi-sensei stopped me at lunch, and informed me we’d be spending time on genjutsu after lunch. He said his class had already started to learn about it, but he didn’t want to take up my lunch period, so Itachi would help me during class. I nodded, and hurried to join Hana for lunch.

“I wish I was back in our class,” I said.

“You still want to be around her after what she did?”

“Well, no, not really,” I said. “But it was still my class, you know? It’ll be so weird being in a different class.”

“I guess that’s true. What did she do to you?”

“Itachi said it was a genjutsu,” I said. “Essentially.”

“Essentially?”

“Well, it was meant to be a lot more powerful, but I guess she wasn’t strong enough, so it ended up being more of a genjutsu.”

“What was it supposed to do?”

“Itachi said it was supposed to send the target to the spirit world.”

“What does that even mean?” Hana asked.

“I’m not sure, honestly,” I said. “But I guess it means I’d physically be stuck in the spirit world.”

“That’s kind of scary…”

“It is. I need to learn more about her family,” I said. “I guess that’s the good thing about moving up a level. We’re learning about genjutsu. Maybe it’ll help me understand what happened.

Hana nodded, and we finished our lunch in silence.

I left school that day knowing a lot more about genjutsu, but still not understanding what Rei’s jutsu did to me.

I walked with Itachi out of class. “Sorry I can’t—”

“No need to be sorry, it’s best if we don’t train together for a little bit,” Itachi said. “You need to make sure you’re fully recovered before resuming taxing training.”

“I guess.”

I said goodbye to him when I saw my father, and we went our separate ways.

“Daddy,” I said hesitantly, after a few moments of walking in silence.

“Yeah?”

“When will you start teaching me our clan’s kekkei genkai?” I asked.

“Well, I suppose whenever you want.”

“Today?”

“What? Well, I’m not sure your mother will approve… but if you can convince her, then sure.”

I nodded, and remained silent for a few more minutes. “Daddy?”

“Yeah?”

“Do we have any books on the Kimimoto family in our library?”

He was silent, so I looked up and saw he was staring down at me.

“I want you to promise me you won’t start a fight with this girl.”

“That wasn’t my plan…”

“There are no excuse for her actions, but after the loss of her uncle, her family was hurting.”

“I don’t want to fight her. I just… want to be ready.”

“I’ll show you what we have.”

For the rest of the school year, I spent a day or two a week training with Itachi, but the rest of my after school time was spent developing and perfecting my clan’s shadow manipulation techniques, and late hours spent on weekends after my homework was done reading about Rei’s family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit rushed. I love young Etsu, but I really want to write her a bit older. I'm just not that great at writing kids haha.


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I only own Etsu and Rei (and any other OC's that might appear). All other rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

# Chapter Five

#### Graduation

I managed to avoid Rei for the rest of the Academy’s school year, but I suspected the teachers were keeping as close an eye on her as they were on me. I acted like I didn’t know, but I was all too aware of them watching me during lunch, sometimes even after school, they would follow me and Itachi to his clan compound. 

After the incident with Rei, he told me that we could keep training, but only under his clan’s supervision. I later found out, mostly through observations of my own, that his father was very against me training with Itachi. I still couldn’t figure out why, but every time I passed his father, he gave me dirty looks. Maybe he blamed me for what happened to Itachi, maybe it was simple clan rivalry. I tried not to let it get to me. His mother seemed to like me, though, and I could only assume she was the one to convince Itachi’s father to allow us to train together.

While I managed to avoid Rei all year, nothing could prevent us from meeting during the graduation test. She, along with Hana, were both graduating this year. Nonoko-sensei led them to mine and Itachi’s class. I trained my eyes down on my desk, but I could feel her eyes trained on me.

I took a deep breath when I felt her approaching my table, and looked up at her. Her brown eyes met my black eyes, but I refused to waiver. I refused to be afraid of her.

“The teachers might have given you special treatment here, but don’t expect it out there.” She jerked her chin towards the window, but I knew she was referring to after graduation. “Assuming you pass, that is.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be worried about me.”

She stood there, eyes locked on mine, before hmph-ing, and taking a seat in the back.

“Alright, good, everyone’s here,” Tachi-sense said, getting everyone’s attention. “Those of you who are here have, one, passed the written exam, and, two, have shown sufficient skill in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. You will be called individually into the back room where Nonoko-sensei and I will give you a jutsu to perform, one that we feel is your weak point, so it will be different for everyone. Alright, let’s begin.”

The first student followed Tachi-sense and Nonoko-sensei into the back room, and the rest of us were left waiting.

I didn’t realize I had been tapping the desk until a hand covered mine, pressing it down into the desk and stopping the movement.

I looked over to see a slightly annoyed look on Itachi’s face.

“There’s no need to be nervous, you’ll do fine.”

“I’m not nervous.”

“Tapping is a sign of nervousness and anxiety. I’ve been around you long enough to know you don’t have anxiety, so you must be nervous about the test. Or…” He trailed off, glancing back at where Rei was sitting.

“I admit it’s… unnerving to be around her, especially after this long of not being around her.”

“You won’t be on the same team as her,” he said. “Usually, they pair two guys with one girl. Even if that doesn’t happen and you end up on a team with two, or even three girls, they won’t pair you with her.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I can’t. I do highly doubt it, though.”

“Etsu Nara.” I jumped a little at the call of my name, pulling my hand from Itachi’s. I looked at Tachi-sensei, and, after a deep breath, stood and followed him into the back room.

“You did extremely well this past year, and progressed quicker than the average student. We’re very impressed. Which is why we will be giving you two jutsu to perform. First, we’d like to see a clone jutsu.”

I nodded, put my hands together to focus my chakra, and then quickly performed the hand signs. “Clone jutsu!” Three, perfect clones appeared in front of me. I held them until Tachi-sensei nodded in approval.

“The second jutsu?” I asked.

“We understand your father has been teaching you your clan’s kekkei genkai, yes?” I nodded. “Show us one that you’ve learned.”

“Um… okay.” I thought for a moment, before deciding on the shadow sewing jutsu. I still hadn’t perfected it, but I hoped I could maintain it long enough to impress Tachi-sensei and Nonoko-sensei. I performed the necessary hand signs, after focusing my chakra, and said, “Shadow sewing jutsu!”

I felt my chakra flow into my shadow, watched as it grew darker and lifted off the ground. _So far so good_. I focused my chakra more, splitting my shadow into thin strands. I felt my hands start to shake. _No, no, no. Hang on just a little longer_. I knew I needed to do something with the jutsu. Well, maybe I didn’t, but being who I was, I wanted to go the extra mile, even if my body was screaming in protest. I dug deeper, re-dispersing my chakra so one thread had more chakra. I felt another thread disappeared, but I ignored it. My legs started shaking, and I readjusted my stance, I was almost done. I moved one thread of shadow towards the teachers’ table, and wrapped it around a pencil. I managed to hold it for three seconds, a new record for me – though the teachers wouldn’t know it.

My shadow disappeared, dropping the pencil, which hit the table, then the floor, bouncing with two loud clatters. I fell to my knees, panting, and when I looked up I could see a mix of worry and awe on their faces. Which I think meant I succeeded in impressing them.

I took a deep breath and pushed myself up, and gave a sheepish grin.

“That’s a pretty high level jutsu,” Nonoko-sensei said to Tachi-sensei.

“Still, it wasn’t quite perfect.”

My grin faltered for a moment, and I spoke up. “I know it’s not quite mastered, but I only started learning it a few weeks ago. Daddy says I’m the youngest to attempt learning it.”

“The question now will be, will you be the youngest to master it?” 

I met Tachi-sensei’s gaze, and realized he wanted an answer. I paused, would I be? I knew the answer they wanted, but was it the right answer?

“Yes. I will.”

Tachi-sensei gave me a smile. Whether it was true or not, the conviction I said it with must have convinced them. It certainly convinced me.

They exchanged a look, and nodded. “You pass.”

I felt a huge grin spread across my face, my exhaustion momentarily forgotten.

“You’ll receive your headband later, for now, go and rest,” Nonoko-sensei replied.

I took my seat next to Itachi, and he pushed a handkerchief in front of me.

I gave him a confused look, and he simply said, “You’re sweating.”

I gingerly touched my forehead and found I was indeed sweating. I wiped my forehead quickly and held it out to him.

He looked between it and me, and gave a small frown. “Keep it.”

If I didn’t know him as well as I did, I would have thought it was a cute gesture, but I knew he just didn’t want to hold onto something covered in someone else’s sweat. I made a note to wash it and return it to him later.

It was then I realized we might not see each other much. I knew he would pass, he was an Uchiha after all, but if we weren’t on the same team…

“What happens if we’re not on the same team?”

“Then we will have different teachers and different missions.”

“Well, duh, I know that, but… we won’t see each other as often. Will we… will we still be able to train together?”

“I can’t imagine it will be necessary. We will be in teams of three with a jounin leader, they will be able to us one-on-one.

“I—but—” I sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

He gave a small laugh. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t still hang out.”

I looked up at him, grinning. “Hang out? It’s kinda weird to hear you say that.”

Once everyone was done with their test, those that failed went with Nonoko-sensei to her classroom, although there was only two students, neither of whom I knew, that failed. The rest of us staying in Tachi-sensei’s classroom to receive our headbands and our team assignments.

He started calling off names of students, telling them which group they would be in and who their leading jounin was.

“Etsu Nara,” he finally called. I looked up, waiting to see who I’d be paired with. “Hana Inuzuka.” I smiled over at the girl who, despite being in different classes for more than half the year, had become one of my closest friends. “And Itachi Uchiha.” I grinned at Itachi, who gave a small smile in return. “Your leading Jounin will be Inoichi Yamanaka.”

“I didn’t know he lead teams of genin,” I muttered to myself.

“Rei Kimimoto, Hiroki, and Katsu. Your jounin will be…” he paused a moment, squinting at the clipboard in front of him. “Um, your jounin is… Shikaku Nara.”

“What? No! I refuse!” I heard the clatter of a chair as Rei stood up, and I looked back at her. “There’s no way that… that… that murder will train me!”

“Hey, my dad’s not a murder!” I exclaimed, standing up to face her properly. “Take that back!”

“Why don’t you make me?” She took a few steps towards me.

“Don’t tempt me.” I took a couple steps towards her so we were standing right in front of each other.

“Hey, hey, settle down,” Tachi-sensei said appearing next to us, placing a hand on each of our shoulders. “Rei, you don’t get to pick your teacher. The hokage assigns them. If you have a problem with it, you’re welcome to stay in the Academy for another year. Now, both of you, take your seats.”

Rei and I glared at each other a moment longer, both of us refusing to move before the other.

“Sit down now.”

I knew Rei wouldn’t back down, and I knew Tachi-sensei expected me to be the bigger person, and no matter how much I didn’t want to be the bigger person, I finally relented and returned to my seat.

I clenched my fists to keep them from shaking. My earlier exhaustion was now completely forgotten, and now I was shaking from anger.

“Now then, is everyone’s teams and teacher understood?” There was a chorus of yesses from the class. “Good. On your way out, collect your headband. Report to this classroom tomorrow morning at eight am sharp, you will meet your teacher and begin your training as genin. Congratulations to all who passed, and thank you for a good year. Dismissed!” 

I grabbed my headband, and headed outside with Hana and Itachi.

“I’m glad we’re on a team together,” I said. “Should we start training to work on our teamwork?”

“Seriously, Etsu?” Hana asked, sounding exhausted and exasperated. I looked over at her in confusion.

“Let’s take the rest of the day to relax.” Itachi said. I looked at him, seeing him smile down at me. “We’ll have plenty of time to work on teamwork. Right now will be one of our few chances to relax.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

We exited the school, and I saw daddy waiting for me. Our eyes met, and I held up my headband with a grin. I ran to him, jumping into his open arms.

“I’m proud of you, Etsu,” he said. “But, if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect anything less. And neither did your mother. We have a special dinner for you tonight.”

“Thank you, daddy,” I said. I waved goodbye to Hana and Itachi, and started the walk home with daddy.

“Did you know Inoichi will be my leading jounin?” I asked, after telling him my teammates were Itachi and Hana.

“I heard.”

“Daddy, why are you Rei’s instructor?” I asked.

He gave me a small smile. “It was Lord Hokage’s request. Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“He told me Rei’s father actually requested,” he explained. I gave him a confused look, and he just shrugged. “I didn’t get a reason, but after the mistake I made, I think I owe him this. Besides, I can’t really say no to Lord Hokage.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You’ll learn pretty quickly that part of being a ninja is following orders, even the ones you don’t like.”

I went to bed that night with a full belly, and a fully awake mind. I tossed and turned all night, but only managed to get a few hours of sleep.


End file.
